A significant portion of people suffer from some type of back discomfort or outright pain, particularly in the lower lumbar region, after sitting for an extended period of time, for example, while driving, flying as a passenger, or sitting in a presentation or a lecture. Generally, sitting upright places certain stress on the back because of the effort exerted by the relevant parts of musculoskeletal system to keep a person upright.
One conventional approach to alleviating this problem is the use of various types of external back braces, which generally are wrapped around person's midsection and secured in place when extra back support is desired. Basically, such supports mechanically restrict movement, particularly laterally, of the back such that the muscles of the back can work less hard to keep the back straight. Consequently, however, such back braces usually significantly restrict a user's movement such that it is difficult to easily transition between simply sitting and other activities requiring more mobility and/or freedom of motion. In addition, some conventional back braces are quite bulky or voluminous, and are visually obvious when worn.
Both of these issues usually force a user to put on and take off the conventional back brace repeatedly, depending on need, but this can create a problem in terms of finding a discreet place to put on and take off the brace underneath one's clothing.
Another conventional approach is to use independent cushions or pillows or the like that are manually arranged relative to the desired area of the back, so that the cushion is wedged between the person's back and, for example, a chair back. However, such cushions are prone to shifting if the person moves, requiring frequent repositioning. In addition, such cushions are inherently bulky and are therefore difficult to conveniently carry and store when back support is not needed.
GB 2352611 discloses a selectively inflatable rectangular pad attached to an upper body garment using hook-and-loop strips to permit the pad to be repositioned along a vertical axis of the garment. However, such an arrangement still only provides a limited extent of back support at any given location, and furthermore requires inconvenient changing steps (similar to those associated with a conventional back brace) in order to reposition the pad.
Sometimes an individual suffers from chronic back pain and may also use transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (commonly referred to as “TENS”) therapy. TENS therapy uses a plurality of flat electrodes that are placed on the skin surface (usually by way of adhesive) in the region requiring therapy, the electrodes transmitting low-strength electrical impulses through the skin. However, it is a recognized problem in a TENS system for the electrodes to lose their adhesive tack relative to the skin, conventionally resulting in a need to frequently replace the electrodes with fresh ones with a new adhesive layer. The costs involved therefore are non-trivial, because the electrodes are typically not inexpensive.